Easy Ways to Encourage Healthy Eating Habits

When a child is hungry, it’s so much easier to just remove a wrapper or open a package than it is to actually prepare something healthy. To combat this, I suggest keeping healthy, ready-to-eat foods on hand at all times. Have a drawer in your refrigerator with cheese sticks or cut-up, bite-sized fruits and veggies.

Put a basket on the counter with boxes of raisins, whole grain crackers, small bags of air-popped popcorn, or other age-appropriate healthy snacks. Having these items ready for your kids when the urge to snack hits them will help them to make better choices, and to be honest, it will help you make better choices too. With healthy, tasty options on hand, you'll be much more likely to grab a handful of baby carrots than to dip into the candy tin.

Also remember that if you do have an over-abundance of sealed candy (as in, after Halloween), you don’t have to throw it away. Consider donating it to our troops overseas or to a charity.